11 September April 2013: Round-up after stages 14-17: Time is running out for Vicenzo Nibali's rivals as the race nears its climax.

Vicenzo Nibali face doesn't give much away so its hard to know what the Italian might have been thinking over the last few days, but the first words of a victory speech must surely have been floating through his mind as he relaxed on the massage table. On the other hand his Astana soigneur may well have been reminding him of the 28 seconds that he has over Chris Horner, with four stages still remaining. The RadioShack Leopard man has halved the gap to Nibali over the last few days, and a bad wheel change at the wrong time and place could see him back in red. Time, though is increasingly on Nibali's side.

Thursday's Stage 18 is the last mountain stage of La Vuelta 2013. The 186.5km between Burgos and Peña Cabarga has five climbs, including the uphill finish with a section at 20%.

Horner: “Tomorrow could be a very big day. We don’t know how much affect it will have on the race but it will certainly be the stage for all the fans to watch from the couch. Grab your beer and get ready for the show!”

General Classification after 17 Stages - Top 10

1

Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team

68:50:29

2

Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack Leopard

0:00:28

3

Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team

0:01:14

4

Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha

0:02:29

5

Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Saxo-Tinkoff

0:03:43

6

Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale

0:05:09

7

Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ

0:06:08

8

Leopold Konig (Cze) Team NetApp-Endura

0:06:17

9

Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi

0:07:33

10

Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team

0:10:52

Stage 17 - Calahorra - Burgos, 189.5km

Wind dominated the daytaking its toll of much of the field, including many of the sprinters who were distanced in the run-in. Step forward one of the pleootn's consumate all-arounders, Belkin’s Bauke Mollema. The Dutchman broke away with less than a kilometre to go to claim his second win of the 2013 season. Second place was won by Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) and third to Maximiliano Richeze of Lampre-Merida for third.

While Nibali and Horner kept their positions,the splits in the peloton saw several GC riders losing out, most notably Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2R) who lost his fifth place with Nicolas Roche (Saxo-Tinkoff) moving up and Thibault Pinot (FDJ) losing time but still staying ahead of Leopold Konig (Netall-Endura) in 7th.

Daniele Ratto soloed to the win in Collada de la Gallina. Ratto (Cannondale), 24, claimed the second victory of his pro career – after the GP Larciano in 2010 – in unexpected circumstances. It was a cold and wet day with continuous rain on the way to the col deLa GallinainAndorra. The Italian rider stayed away after he escaped early with world champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC) and Luis Leon Sanchez (Belkin). The latter pulled out due to hypothermia, so did Ratto’s team captain Ivan Basso while race leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) consolidated his red jersey as he crossed the line in second position.

Race leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana): “Today it’s been hard! I’ve suffered a lot. Slowly but surely, I’ve found myself again. I’ve fought till the end. I’ve made an important step in the overall classification but there are still some riders not far down. I’m pleased with today’s outcome but there are still many hard stages left. At the Vuelta, there’s always something new that might happen, so I prefer to keep my feet on the ground.”

Stage 14 Result- top 10

1

Daniele Ratto (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling

4:24:00

2

Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team

0:03:53

3

Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack Leopard

0:03:55

4

Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha

0:04:11

5

Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi

0:04:19

6

Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team

0:04:43

7

Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr

0:04:46

8

Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale

9

Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi

0:05:17

10

Leopold Konig (Cze) Team NetApp-Endura

0:05:21

General Classification after stage 14 - top 10

1

Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team

53:56:49

2

Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack Leopard

0:00:50

3

Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team

0:01:42

4

Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha

0:02:57

5

Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale

0:03:43

6

Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Saxo-Tinkoff

0:04:06

7

Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr

0:04:34

8

Leopold Konig (Cze) Team NetApp-Endura

0:05:42

9

Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha

0:06:28

10

Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team

0:06:45

Stage 15, Andorra to Peyragudes, 224.9 km

It took more than six hours to complete the 225km of stage 15, but fortunately the narrow mountain roads remained mainly dry. For the third day on the trot the win came from a successful breakaway with Alexandre Geniez (FDJ) slipping free before the last climb to take a solo win by 3:03 ahead of Michele Scarponi (Lampre-Merida) and 3:07 to Nicolas Roche of Saxo-Tinkoff.

Stage 16, Andorra to Peyragudes, 224.9 km- Horner fights back and gains time

Warren Barguil (Argos-Shimano) took his second stage win of the 2013 La Vuelta taking Sky's Rigoberto Uran to a photo finish in a duel at the end of the short 146.8km stage between Graus and Aramón Formigal. The action wasn't over though. Back down the hill Chris Horner was giving Nibali a massive fright.

First Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) in third place threw a punch, but Nibali responded with his Astana team to deflect the blow. However, when Joaquim Rodriguez of Katusha took off in one of his trademark late-race attacks there was no response from Nibali. Seeing him falter, Chris Horner went after ‘Purito’ himself, sensing that there were seconds to gain on the ride to Aramón Formigal. It was a shrewd move with Horner gaining 22 seconds to move him within twenty-eight seconds of Nibali. Valverde moved to 1:14 for third place and Rodriguez went under three minutes at 2:29.

Horner: “Attacks came from everyone. Astana did a good job controlling the race, then Movistar took over to keep the break close. But on the last climb it was all fireworks. When Rodriguez went, I hestitated for a moment, but then Kišerlovski gave a big effort. I heard on the radio some were in trouble so I did what I could. Valverde came up to me and we just went. It was a perfect climb for ‘Purito’ and he had the most to gain on GC so he had a little bit of room. He’s been ranked number 1 in the world, so when he got a gap and we hesitated, he was gone.”